Sheet-metal-bending die



' J. HUBER SHEET METAL SENDING DIE Filed Sent. 26, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2FEE- 7 O 47 Patented Get. 28, 1%24.

JOHN HUBER, 0F 'BELLWo'on, PENNSYLVANIA.

sHEET-MrirAL-Biinnins DIE.

Application filed September 26, 1922. Serial No. 590,617.

To all whom 272, may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN HUBER, a citizen of the United States, residingat Bellwood, in the county of Blair and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Sheet-Metal- BendingDies, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention relates to the art of bending sheet or plate metal betweensuitably formed dies, It has in view to utilize the main frame of apower actuated shear, punch, press or other similar machine, byproviding suitable dies and supporting and adjusting mechanism, capableof attachment tosuch a machine, and adapted to operate in the mannerhereinafter described.

The invention particularly refers to means for mounting and supportingthe plate to be flanged, to an improved form of die mechanism, means formaintaining atemp orary holding pressure on the plateduring bending, andto various other features of the mechanism, as hereinafter more fullydescribed. The present invention is a further development of that shownin my prior Letters Patent No. 1,482,927, dated February 5, 1924.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a partial View in side elevation of a standard punch, shear,or press, equipped with the necessary mechanism for flanging a circularboiler plate or head;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional detail view on the line IIII- of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detached partial view similar to Fig. 1, showing thepressing die in raised position atthe commencement of the bendingoperation;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic detail View of the valve controlling mechanismfor the fluid-actuated pressing cylinders;

Fig. 5 is a detail View showing one of the valve arms in its alternatingposition;

Fig. 6 is a detail plan view of the operative mechanism of Fig. 4;

Fig.7 is a sectional detail view, enlarged, of the pressing mechanismfor holding the plate during the bending operation;

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan View thereof on the line VIIIVIII of Fig. 7;and

Fig. 9 is a transverse sectional view on the line IX -IX of Fig. 8. e

In the drawings,2 is the main frame or housing of a standard punch,shear, or press, having the usual anvil block or base 3 and head 4. thehead 4is usually mounte-da cam or eccentric-actuated reciprocable heador base, to which is attached the punch or shear of common use. Theactuating shaft 0 for such cantor eccentric is usually provided: withadriven gear 6 engaged by pinion cof power shaft (5, of well knownconstruction, as in; Fig. 4.

The usual punch orshear, inthe present case, is replaced by, abloek 5,adaptedto be raised and. lowered by the actuating mechanism inconnection with the customary clutch, forintermittent operation. Blockbis provided with a centrally arranged tem-,

per screw 6, which is connected by its swivel "FFICE.

head 7 and retaining plate 8, or in any other suitable manner,with thereciprocable die block 9. s V

The die block 9, in the present construction, is adapted for verticalmovement and operation upon the practically horizontal blank, byvertical movement thereagainst. For such purpose, and to facilitate theeasy bending and action of the die, its lower face 10 is slightly slopedbackwardly from the front corner, and its front face 11is sloped I Islightly forwardly of its front general vertical direction, said facesbeing joined by a rounded knuckle or corner .12. p

The object of such formation is that the die block 9, in its downwardmovement against the projecting edge of. the plate 6,

as in Fig. 3, will engage the outer edge of the plate by its slightlysloping face 10, bending it downwardly over the right angle corner ofthe L-shaped anvil block 14, which 7 is mountedqupon the forwardly andupwardly extending bracket support 13 of the machine. This latterfeature is generally similar to the bracket construction shown in myprior application above referred to, and is adapted to be fitted uponand screwed to the shouldered base 3 of-the machine, as will be readilyunderstood.

In operation, the plate 6 having been located with its edge extendingover anvil block 14 in range of the bending die, and with theclampingmec'hanism applied'thereto, as hereinafter described, downwardmovement of die 9 easily and gradually bends the projecting portion ofthe plate down around and upon anvil 14, and against theinner facethereof, as in Fig. 1,at right angles to its upper face, resulting in aright angle flange. Theoperation is easy, gradual, and co'mplete,'duetothe angular are rangement of the parts, and avoiding the necessity ofsubsequent or doubleflanging.

The circular plate e to be flanged is pivotally mounted at its center bya hole upon a centering pin or stud 17 extending up wardly from andsupported by a block 18 which is slidably mounted upon a pair ofsupporting channel or other bars 19-19 incorporated with and extendingoutwardly from the base 13, and resting at their outer ends upon afoundation support 20, as in Fig. 1.

The centering block 18 is slidably and ad justably mounted on channelmembers 19 and fixedly secured in its desired position when adjusted byset screws 21. Centering pin 17 is a portion of a larger stem or bolt'22 in threaded engagement with the hub or hearing 18, through whichit'extends, and is provided with the terminal nut 23 for adjustmenttherein. It extends upwardly through such bearing and is provided withan adjusting nut '25, whereby to fixedly lo- 'cate and hold the stem 22exactly at the right height for pivotal mounting of plate 6 onshouldered stud 17. A terminal nut 26 is used, if desired, to retain theplate loosely in rotative position.

For the purpose of preliminarily clamping the plate downwardly uponanvil 14, I use a series of pressing shoes 27 27 and .28. These aremounted by guiding studs 29 in the lower portion 30 of a downwardly ex-.tending adjustable frame 31, as clearly shown in Figs. 7 and 9. Theshoes are of sufficient width to engage an ample area of the plate tohold it firmly, and the shoes themselves are pressed downwardly by aplurality of wedges 32. Wedges 32 are formed as portions of reciprocablebars 33, a pair of such bars being preferably utilized, each havingapiston stem 34 connected with a plunger 35 of a fluid-actuated cylinder36. Said cylinders are mounted at opposite ends upon the projectingportions 30 of the bottom plate 30, and bars 33 are mounted forlongitudinal movement across and underneath an upper plate 37 of frame31. By such construction, the simultaneous actuation of bars 33 move theseveral wedges 32, depressing the several studs 29, and pressing all ofthe shoes 27, 27, 28 downwardly upon the portion of plate 6 whichextends over the anvil block 14, and holding it firmly thereupon.

For the purpose of guiding shoes 2728 and maintaining them in operativeposition at all times, each shoe is provided with upwardly extendingguiding'pins 38 project ing through suitable bearings inplate' 30,having terminal washers 31 and nuts. A spiral spring 33 normally pressesupwardly against the washer 31 to retract the pressing shoe, whichspring is preferably surrounded with a protecting shell 34, provid ingfor ample range of movement. Its upper edge limits undue downwardmovement of the pin 38 and shoe by abutting engagement of washer 31 Suchconstruction being provided at each side of wedge-actuated studs 29ensures equalization of the pressure and prompt retraction of theseveral shoes when the wedges are withdrawn.

F or the purpose of automatically operating the pressing mechanism, Iprovide a controlling valve 24 to control pressure to one end of each ofcylinders 36, simultaneously, by means of a fluid pressure supply pipe40, having branches 4141 connected with each cylinder, as shown. Valve24 is provided with a normal pressure supply line 42 and a suitableexhaust, so that, as the valve is direction it will open the exhaustpassages to 7 permit return movement of the plungers 35 under action ofa reverse pressure, with suitable exhaust of'the inert fluid.

In a similar manner, a controlling valve 24 controls pressure throughsupply pipe 40 and branch :pipes 41, to the'opposite ends of cylinders36, to reverse the movement of plungers 35 to release the wedges 32,after each sectional bending of the flange.

For the purpose of thus actuating each valve 24 and 24*, their stems 43are each provided with a double ended lever 44, extending at one sideinto the range of a pin or abutment 45, suitably located on gear I), ason one of the arms thereof, and extending at the other side in therangeof a similar pin or abutment 46, also properly located and timed,as will be observed from Figs. 4 and 5.

In operation, pin 45, in the normal movement of the gear, will engagethe outer arm of lever 44, wiping past it, and opening pressure tocylinders 36, and after such pressure has been exerted a suflicientlength of time, as during the bending of the flange, abutment 46 willthen come into contact with the opposite arm of the lever, depressing itand opening the valve to exhaust, permitting retraction of the wedges32.

In the same manner, abutment 46 likewise operates the other arm 44 toactuate valve 24 to reverse plungers 35 to release wedges 32 at the endof the pressing period, it being understood that the location of theabutments 4546 on the gear 6, the positioning of the arms 44, and thetiming of the-valves is properly proportioned to effect the movements asdesired in proper-sequence, as will be readily understood.

In order to provide clearance for removal of the flanged plate, thepressure bracket 31 is adjustably mounted on a suitable sup portingframe 47 secured to the front of head 4, as shown. Bracket 31 is pivotedby b'olts 4-8Zat'each side so as to swing upwardly and outwardly, withits" clamping mechanism, to allow of-removal' of the flanged raisedposition by engagement in either of the holes 50, as will b'e readilyunderstood. The; terminalconnecti'ons 41 for the pressure pipes are madeflexible, asby sections of rubhose, allowing for the necessary movementof the cylinders with thebracket.

arranged, the mechanism iscapablev Ofbonti-nuOusand semi-automaticoperation', in so far as-the clamping and bending steps. are involved,itbeing only necessary to move the plate "eupon itspivotal mountingsufficiently farfor the-nextbending operation. lt-wi-ll be'un'clerstoodthat, in mechanism of this kind, there are preferablycarried out aplurality of complete annular manipulations and bending operations, sothat variations in the desired circular contour of the flanged plate arecompensated for and smoothed out by continuing the series of annularlyprogressive bending movements during two, three, or more completeannular series.

The construction and operation of the invention will be readilyunderstood and appreciated from the foregoing description. The severalparts are comparatively few and simple, of cheap construction, and may,of course, be made of the proper size, degree of angle, or otherwisemodified by the skilled mechanic, to adapt the machine to the work inview. All such changes are to be understood as within the scope of thefollowing claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a supporting base and a reciprocable power drivenhead, a bracket mounted on the base provided with an L-shaped anvilblock having an inwardly and downwardly sloping rear face and aforwardly extending supporting face, and a co-acting pressing diesecured to the reciprocable head and provided with a correspondinglyinclined face adapted to bend a flange against the rear face of theanvil block.

2. In combination with a supporting base and a .reciprocable powerdriven head, a bracket mounted on the base provided with an L-shapedanvil block having an inwardly and downwardly sloping face, a co-actingpressing die secured to the reciprocable head and provided with acorrespondingly inclined face, and a lower inclined face mergingthereinto by a rounded corner and at an obtuse angle to the first namedface, and adapted to make first bending contact against the edge portionof a blank laid across the L-shaped block.

3. The combination with a supporting base and reciprocable power drivenhead; a bracket m'ountedon the base provided: with'u an L-shaped anvilblock having a down. wardly and". inwardly sloping rear anvil".

face, an upper outwardly and downwardly sloping supporting face at rightangles thereto, and a co-acting pressing die having; a b'endin-g'faceinclined 1n parallelism with.

the rear face of said anvilb'lock, adapted to bend a sheet'or platemetal blank flatwise over the corner of the lr-shaped anvil block andagainst its rear face.

4. In a machine of the kind"disclosed, a lower bracket'provid'ed with ananvil block:

vided with an-adjustable threaded bracket,

a-th'readed stud-extending therethrough providedwith tightening devices,and a terminal reduced extension thereof providing a pivotal bearing fora blank.

5. In a machine of the kind disclosed,'a lower bracket provided with ananvil block having a downwardly and outwardly sloping upper face, adownwardly and inwardly sloping rear face at right angles thereto, a co-acting pressing die and means for actuating it, a forwardly extendingframe provided with an adjustable threaded bracket, a threaded studextending therethrough provided with a tightening device, and a terminalreduced extension thereof providing a pivotal bearing for a blank, saidbearing and its parts being adjustable toward and from the anvil memberon a plane parallel with its upper face.

6. In combination with a pressing machine of the kind disclosed providedwith an anvil member, clamping mechanism comprising a plurality of wedgeactuated shoes, a supporting frame therefor, co-acting wedges, fluidactuated mechanism therefor, and means for controlling said mechanism inconformity with the operation of the machine.

7. Clamping mechanism for a blank in a pressing machine of the kinddisclosed comprising a supporting frame, a plurality of pressing shoeshaving actuating stems, wedges therefor provided with reciprocable bars,fluid actuated plungers connected therewith, cylinders therefor,controlling valves for said cylinders, and means actuated by a portionof the pressing machine for actuating said valves to apply or releasepressure.

8. Pressing mechanism for a blank in a machine of the kind disclosedcomprising a supporting frame, a plurality of pressing shoes eachprovided with a pressure stem and spring-controlled retracting stems,

wedge mechanism for the pressing stems, I

fluid-pressure mechanism for actuating said Wedges, and means dependenton the operation of the machine for controlling the fluid pressuresupply of said mechanism.

9;Pressing mechanismfor a blank in a machine of the kind disclosedcomprising a supporting frame, a plurality of pressing shoes eachprovided with a pressure stem and springcontrolled retracting stems,Wedge mechanism for the pressing stems, fluid pressure mechanism foractuating said Wedges, controlling valves and pressure applyingconnections between the valves and said mechanism, abutments located ona moving part of the machine, and actuating means for the valvesarranged in thepath of said abutments.

10. In combination With the gearing of a pressing machine having areciprocable head, pressure actuating mechanism provided With operatingcylinders, pressure controlling valves therefor having tilting arms,

and a plurality of abutments on the gearing adapted to engage said arms,said parts being mounted on and carried by: the

reciprocable head. i

11. In a pressing machine havinga reciprocable head, a bracket pivotedon the head provided With pressure applying mechanism adapted to act ona'blank, and means for locating the bracket in lowered operative po- 7sition or raised inoperative positiom 12. In a pressing machine havingare-1 ciprocable head, a bracket pivoted on the head provided Withpressure applying mechanism adapted to act on a blank, and removable'locking devices for holding the bracket on the reciprocable head ina lowered .opert ative position'and in a raised inoperative 7 JOHN HUBEf

